CHINA’S TROUBLES.

Putaruru Press, Volume V, Issue 177, 24 March 1927, Page 3

CHINA’S TROUBLES.

ARE THEY PRODUCED BY EDUCATION ?. TVfetaiy sttnidents whin have been B-eleiking for .'the causes otf the* revolutionary Nationalist movement in China found them in the n-eJw eduidaitional movement. Differendae of mentality which are (sharply to divide Orientals and Ouciden'tiiiLs will disappear when Ithje massefe (oif China are educated, aidcoirding to Dr Alfred Sze, Chinese MintLstet 4 at Washington, who talked tre'ceinlbly alhoult la projeJct to ejducat e the vaslt population of China within a decade. The projkict for mass educatilon in China is of necessity an intensive one. One-fourth of the population of Ithe eairth is Chinese, the most prolific race on eturth. And o l f this mass 80 per cent are illiterate. According to bulletins published in Shanghai and Peking, these millions must spelsdily Ibe (educated, for the gTeat experiment : in democracy. One of the bulletins unde<r the! title ” -cf “How to Educate China’s Illiterate Millions- in a Dec fade-,wa(s published, in Peking. 1923, under the auspices of the Chinese Ass-cdibiti'on foir tide Advancement of Education. This bulletin starts off with: “Chiba iJs (again at the (parting of the ways. W hut her is she- hctiding, toward democracy o-r aarto-ciraay ? But can nation suCiceed 'in a nation wh-ere 80 per (cent, of the people 'can not read or write thieir own language?^ Regarding miass education in China in thiei past, the miiniistefr explained that the igireat olbsitiacle had been that the vernacular wajs never used in printed form, but only the classical language usbd by sidiolars. The “Liftera/ry Revcllutlon 7 if 1919 resulted itn the adoption og Pei-Hua or the spoken language for printed material. It has /biefcome in tills short space of time the national literary medium. A simplified was found to be -this filfrst step iln this : P'lan for miass edubringing knowledge to “the m?® who has to struggle for his rice." This simplification had as its Object the “maximum of vocabulary in a minimum 'o-f time.’ The written language was pared down to a thousand characters, t'h-'ei effort taking form iin wih-at is known as the “'Peppile’s ThousandChariacter Lessons.” Dr Sze- said that this selection of a practical vbca’bulary was made by tw-o men working independently, but the (characters (selected wdre the same to to the extent of eight hundred cufiof the thousa'nd. Daniel C. Fu of the Popular Education committee- of tli>3

Chinese Y.M.C.A. began the process of s-ele/ction, and about -the same time Prlcdessor H. C. Chen of tfhe National Southeastern University, at Nanking, be-gan work on what he calls the “vocabulary of ‘the! common people.” T.lieir combined efforts produce-d the thousand ’characteris finally adopted. An illustration of the use of Chinese characters is shown -in one of the 'bulletins mentioned. A 'character is so ocimsiru'cted as to- present a picture, real or imaginary, of the -thing presented. The character representing “snow,” for Instance is made up of the characters, “rain’ and “mountain.” “Loyalty” is made up of tills character (representing h\J rt and “in the very midst,” that is- whole-hearted and true to the core.

A campaign flcr mass education has 'caused free slchdols to spring up like mushrooms all over 'China. All sorts cif buildings are used for school purposes, nl_(t o-mly fchle flew school 1 uildr'ngs prepelr, but temples, club hou Ms, chue‘hes, private houses, the Y.M.C.A. and oth\V* places.. And all so<Jti3 of people are attending these s'.hooliS' —beggat’-s, sioavengers, p'i-g buyer Is, 'char bearelrs and so cm. Students a.-c 1 aJ.iiLctted by .pUtss -agents methods in the form of posteps, official prcolama-tions, ma-ss meetings and parades, carriyin-g 'banners with such devices as, “'ls Your S'cin Blind? An Illiterate Minn :1s Blind.” When these millions of China be--ocime Lit Urate “after the silence of the centuries,” the minister thinks they willl constitute and influence for world peace. The Chinese have the .reputation for Using peaceable (by nature, with forbearance and eburtesy instilled into them as a -fundamental of thei>r society.